The Feral landed in an almost graceful roll, getting back up without any trouble. It looked at Pharus’ dark blue flame in a way I did not like at all, then gas surged forward from around its shoulders, trying to envelop the censer where it lay. I yanked it back just in time before a torrent of smoke streamed onto the cobbles, dissolving them like sugar in warm water.

“Fuck you,” I panted. “No touchy.”

{CPU Load: ▲ 69%}

{Core Temp: ▲ 76° C}

As I pulled the censer back further, I noticed a mechanism to quickly fasten it to the handle, returning my weapon to its old form. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the beast for too long, but I managed to successfully fumble through the unfamiliar motion. The chain was a clear tripping hazard, so I wrapped it around my hand and forearm. If I was lucky, it would offer more protection, too.

The beast snarled, flaring its fog with an audible hiss, and once more closed the distance between us in the span of two panicked breaths. Its maw opened wide, an amalgamation of green smoke, dripping congealed acid, and rusty metal teeth, coming straight for my face. On instinct, I rammed Pharus—hilt, chain, and censer—into its mouth in a desperate bid to stop it from biting my head off, melting my face, or choking me to death.

But when the wood and metal touched the fog, they slid right through, as the beast clamped its jaws shut with terrible force. My heart skipped a beat, but then both censer and pommel found purchase on bone, keeping the beast’s jaws open inches from my face. The Feral trembled with fury and power, dripping corrosive gel all over my gauntlet, which sizzled and popped wherever the liquid touched it.

{CPU Load: ▲ 99%}

{Core Temp: ▲ 78° C}

Panting, I made eye contact, saw the fog roil like a loaded spring, and commanded Pharus to ignite.

[>>PROCESSES BY USER F0g-Eat3r ARE NOW HIGHLIGHTED]

The feral’s face burst into flames immediately. Heat battered my body, fiery gas rolled over me, boiling and distending, but I did not let go of my weapon, kept flaring its power even as the chains wrapped around my arm heated up and began searing through my clothes. Smoke forced itself into my nostrils, no matter how hard I tried not to breathe.

I hadn’t known it was possible for something to emit such a stench. Rancid machine oil. Fried electronics. Superconductors going haywire. They all combined into an acrid smell that would have given Chris a heart attack. As it was, it made me throw up in my mouth, but I dared not open it. So I held on to Pharus with all my might, closed eyes stinging with acid tears, and in an act of defiance towards my own fear as much as the monster, I leaned forward and pushed Pharus even deeper.

[DPM integrity]

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 35% ⚠ ▼▼

{CPU Load: ▲ 99%}

{Core Temp: ⚠ ▲▲ 79° C}

Fuck, despite all my talk about being frugal, I had completely forgotten to regenerate my DPM. Thinking frantically, grasping for something else I could do, I reached for my Wish.

{AVAILABLE LOGIC - 0 LB}

Fuck… I spent all of it on Ardor. Despite the heat surrounding me, I felt cold. I should have advanced something else, should have saved more, should have spent it differently, should have—

This power is not yours to wield, Witch…

Be fucking careful, Sam! You can’t just—

The power of the gods at your fingertips, and that is how you spend it?!

You’re not worthy of this blessing, tyrant…

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

No longer able to keep my mouth shut lest I drown in my own puke, I spewed it out, retching and getting a lungful of burning acid. My eyes flew open and I found myself face to face with the hyena as my throat set on fire.

Red eyes flashed insufferable data, the pain they revealed pain so disturbingly alike my own. By chomping on the spikes of my torch, the hyena had effectively trapped itself. It couldn't bite down any further without driving the jagged metal straight through its skull. It also couldn't pull away, lest it ripped its own muzzle in two. Still staring at me, let out an ear-piercing sound, a mixture of a scream, a whimper, and a cackling laugh, and its eyes flashed once more, crimson digits spilling from them like tears.

Then it made a decision, dug its paws into the ground, and pulled.

[DPM integrity]

▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 29% ⚠⚠ ▼▼

{CPU Load: ▲ 100%}

{Core Temp: ⚠ ▲▲ 80° C}

{[Arx, Saint’s Embrace] HAS BEEN DISABLED.}

The force of it made me lose my balance in an instant, and I tumbled forward, straight into its burning, roiling maw. I wanted to scream, but the smoke had filled my lungs and all I could do was cough as— the gas that formed the beast’s body shuddered. I felt weightless for a second, then all resistance faded and I hit the floor, hard, congealed green smoke spattering all over my body.

It happened so fast I couldn't even comprehend it at first. One second I had been diving deep into a stinking, flaming maw of rusted teeth, ready to be digested, the next I was on the floor, DPM warnings flashing in a pattern of burning gel, cyan Logic mingling with plumes of acrid smoke.

[DPM integrity]

▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 8% ⚠⚠⚠ —

{CPU Load: ▼ 97%}

{Core Temp: ⚠⚠ ▼ 83° C}

I found the beast’s skull—elongated porous bone that would be the nightmare of every trypopohobe—still clamped around my weapon, and when I looked up, who else would be there but Zephyro, kneeling to help me up? I grabbed his offered arm to get back to my knees, absorbing the hyena’s logic while still in motion. I used it to heal myself immediately and fooled myself into thinking I would learn from my mistakes.

{INCOMING LOGIC - 325 LB}

{AVAILABLE LOGIC - 325 LB}

{CONSUMED LOGIC - 150 LB}

{AVAILABLE LOGIC - 175 LB}

[DPM integrity]

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100%

{CPU Load: ▼ 55%}

{Core Temp: ⚠⚠ ▼ 81° C}

I didn’t even bother to clean myself anymore, nor did Zephyro, his armor, and face still covered with soot, dust, and grime. I spotted the children he had saved heading through the fortress gates. That was good.

Still panting, I doubled over, hands on my knees, and spat on the ground. My spittle was black and laced with green. It made my bile rise once more, and I lurched forward to not throw up all over myself.

After what felt like minutes of emptying my stomach onto the cobblestones, Zephyro’s warm hand on my back, holding my hair in place, I groaned and rolled back to my heels, then got up shakily with his help.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“It is my duty, honor, and pleasure, Sultana.”

I coughed out a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

But I believed him.

About 20% of the civilians were left outside the gate, and now that the press of bodies had lessened, they were making progress even faster than before. I let my eyes sweep the Plaza and found no threats, which left me some time to think for the first time in what felt like days.

I still did not understand the first thing about Logic. If that hyena had a DPM of 12.000-and-something LB, why had I only gotten a fraction of that out of it? Math had never been my strong suit, but it had to be less than 5%. Where did all the rest go? And speaking of Logic, what about me? How did I compare to, well, everyone? I raised my hand and focused on it like I had on the Hyena, but received no readout.

Frowning, I turned to Zephyro instead.

[Zephyro]

[DPM filesize: >XX KLB]

[>>Calculate exact filesize?]

The question of whether or not I wanted to calculate his exact file size still hovered in my mind. On a whim, I accepted the prompt and immediately regretted it as my CPU usage skyrocketed, drawing all the energy out of my limbs and making me fall against the vizier.

{CPU Load: ▲▲ 100%}

{Core Temp: ⚠ ▲▲▲ 86° C}

It went on for longer than I had anticipated, and my entire body flushed like I had a fever. When it finally faded, the result completely blew my expectations away.

[Zephyro - First Vizier of Sultana Samantha the Torchbearer, Steward of Her Blessing, Defender of the Royal Palace, all Her Lands, and Her Will in eternity, inshallah.]

[DPM filesize: 2.55 LMB]